David Beckham: The Day After

David Beckham, one of the most high profile football players of all times, announced his retirement from the game last week.  After all the eulogies, greetings and statements by anyone and everyone who ever knew Beckham, one question now remains: What will the 38 year old Beckham now do with his days?

If you ask Sir Alex Ferguson, the retiring manager of Manchester United where Beckham played for many years, his former protegee will make a name for himself in the fashion world. “In terms of talking about longevity and in many ways reinventing himself, he has done incredibly,”’ said Ferguson. “He had the best stamina in the club. He could run all day and that has allowed him to stay in the game, at that kind of level, playing for his country in his mid-thirties. To come from America and do that is quite amazing and he is an amazing person. He has picked the right time, won the league with PS-G and is the exactly the same as myself, he has plenty of things to do. He is a young man, fashion will be his role I would imagine but he will have plenty to do.”

While Sir Alex’s idea makes sense, Beckham may be remaining in the world of football after all.  The Guardian reported that Beckham’s advisers are in talks with US Major League Soccer that the player could return to the United States as the owner of a new club.  Beckham’s contract with Major League Soccer included an option for him to purchase an ‘expansion franchise’, essentially buying one of the MLS’s 19 teams for under $25 million.  The clause expressly rules out New York as a possible location.

Last year, Beckham said “I have the option of owning a franchise, and that excites me.”

There is no doubt that David Beckham will continue to build on Brand Beckham, made up also by his wife, Victoria – a former Spice Girls and an accomplished fashion designer in her own right – and his four children. It is believed that Beckham’s future will consist of three distinct routes: ambassadorial and charity work; football club ownership; and fashion and media entrepreneurship.